“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” (Proverbs 28:13)
As much as our present is a product of our past, our future depends on our present. What hope is there for a better future when we still haven’t learned from the past? No matter how hidden from others, God knows every wrong turn we’ve ever taken. “For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings” (Prov. 5:21).
Man may be willing to wipe our slate clean, and give us a fresh start, but “God requireth that which is past” (Eccl. 3:15). But isn’t He a merciful God? Yes, indeed. “… The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin …” But in the same declaration of who He is there is added this sobering reminder: “… and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation” (Ex. 34:6,7).
Would we move forward without properly reckoning with the past? Would we build a new life on a foundation of unrepentance? Would we be a new lump without purging out the old leaven? God says we will not. Our future depends on our rightly dealing in the present with our past.
Confession and forsaking of sin is indispensable to the future God has for us. Mercy is available every morning, but not when the sun has gone down upon our wrath. David could not have a right spirit renewed within him unless his hands were cleansed of Uriah’s blood. The closet must be emptied of its skeletons.
No matter how fine we look in the eyes of men, we cannot prosper if we are covering the crime that remains marked before God. There is abundant mercy with God. He offers forgiveness and a fresh start to those who have been guilty of the worst offenses. But this mercy is only available to those who are willing to confess and forsake their sin. When we own our past, however ugly, God will usher us into His beautiful future. Don’t let your past determine your future. Get things straight today.